The present invention is an apparatus to aid with the installation of soffit beneath the eaves of buildings.
Buildings, particularly residential homes, often have eaves or a projecting edge. The outermost edge of the eave typically has a brief vertical section that is referred to as fascia. The under portion of the eave occasionally remains open, exposing the joist and rails of the trusses. More commonly, these areas are covered with a planar material such as plywood. This material is generally attached to a horizontal or nearly horizontal member of the support structure on the underside of the eave. If the described area is covered then the covering is usually referred to as xe2x80x9csoffit.xe2x80x9d
Due to the location of the work to be done to install a soffit, and the time of the installation, this work is labor intensive (commonly requiring 2-3 workers), and can be hazardous for the worker(s).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,459,967 to Bodthker shows an adjustable support structure used to support various types of roofs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,309,857 to Lovering discloses a soffit support structure used to support structure incorporating parallel spaced vertical props connected by a horizontal member, with the props having heads thereon for supporting a short beam for supporting the soffit.
The patents to Bodthker and Lovering reveal that a need still remains for a tool that reduces the labor, improves the efficiency, and economy of soffit installation. The invention presented here meets that need.
An object of the present invention is to provide a soffit installation apparatus that improves the efficiency, economy, and safety of soffit installation beneath eaves.
The present invention is temporarily secured to the roof and or fascia of the eave and includes elements which permit a segment of soffit material to be swung into position horizontally immediately beneath the eave, and held in position while permanent attachment of the soffit is performed.
Advantages of this invention include simplicity and ease in use, operation by a single user, adaptability to related functions in the art of soffit installation, and economy of manufacture. The invention is easy to use by those skilled in the art of installing soffit and can be easily learned by those new to the art of soffit installation.
Other objects, advantages and novel features, and further scope of applicability of the present invention will be set forth in part in the detailed description to follow, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.